She Rejected the Mafia Heir, He Went Crazy Chapter 01

She Rejected the Mafia Heir, He Went Crazy Chapter 01

I used the three hundred thousand dollars my boyfriend and I had saved together for a down payment on a house. To buy a rare designer platinum handbag. Cash.

That night, when Leonardo found out, his eyes went red. “Emily, are you insane? Without that money, we can’t buy a house. How are we supposed to get married?”

I stroked the bag in my hands and said calmly, “Then we won’t get married.”

Leonardo’s face went blank. His voice shook. “What did you say?”

I looked him in the eye and repeated it. “I said we’re not getting married.”

He stared at me, disbelief written all over his face.

After a moment, he slowly crouched down in front of me, took my hand, and asked, “Emily, what happened? Did someone trick you? This isn’t the Emily I know.”

I pulled my hand back, my eyes clear. “No one tricked me.”

He frowned. “Then you—”

I cut him off. “I just wanted to carry this bag and see how it felt.”

He froze. The look in his eyes was like he was seeing a stranger. After a long moment, he stood up. “Are you serious?”

I nodded.

He clenched his fists. “Fine.” Then he turned and walked into the bedroom. The door clicked shut behind him. He didn’t come out again.

I stared at the closed door for a while, then set the bag on the coffee table and picked up the tablet beside me. I unlocked it.

The home screen was a couple’s photo. The man was Leonardo. The woman wasn’t me.

Last Tuesday, my six-year-old professional tablet died. I planned to buy a new one, but after browsing Best Buy for two days, looking at the expensive price tags, I kept thinking about all the expenses after Leonardo and I got married. I couldn’t bring myself to spend the two thousand dollars.

When I got home, I bought a used one on eBay.

It arrived this morning. I eagerly tore open the package, only to find the seller hadn’t wiped the device.

I was about to contact them about it when my finger slipped. The screen unlocked. The home screen loaded. And I saw that photo. In that intimate photo, the other person was my boyfriend Leonardo.

It took me a long time to process it. Then I opened iMessage with shaking hands.

For the next two hours, I went through every chat between this account and Leonardo.

Three conclusions:

One, the account belonged to a woman.

Two, she and Leonardo were in a sugar arrangement.

Three, Leonardo had been lying to me for three years. He wasn’t a normal office worker. He was the favored youngest son of the Vitale crime family—one of New York’s Five Families. A serious contender for the next Don.

Even his casual daily transfers were five figures.

Without thinking, I started adding them up. Halfway through, I realized I was getting dizzy counting the zeros. I went to the bathroom and threw up.

I came back to the living room, sat on the couch, and started remembering everything about our relationship.

Three years together. The most expensive gift he ever gave me was my engagement ring. Two thousand dollars. Not even enough for one beauty treatment for this girl.

Six months ago, I found a dress I liked at a boutique in SoHo. Five hundred dollars. It wasn’t an everyday style—only good for vacation. Leonardo saw I liked it, tugged my hand, and said, “Buy it if you want. We’ll go to the beach for our honeymoon—you can wear it then.”

He said that, and I thought about the house, the wedding, all the expenses. I smiled and said, “Never mind. A few hundred more could go toward furnishing our new home.”

Leonardo looked down. “Emily, you’ve suffered because of me.”

I quickly shook my head. “No. If we work hard together, we’ll have the life we want.”

He looked at me, his voice firm. “Emily, I will never let you down.”